I remember this mob back in April. They were time-wasting from the first minute and got their just-desserts when Ihiekwe scored in time added on.
Their second goal defied the laws of physics. Highlights here.
'https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eB_xZwfZRD0

C'mon the Rovers! I did my scouting/ spying work on sutton last weekend in their live bt sport game vs orient. They were ok but nothing brilliant. They deserved the win though and worked hard for each other. Thought their best player on the day was ross lafayette whom they got from dover. They looked more of a team than orient did. One or two physical challenges from them but nothing too heavy and were within the rules. They lost in midweek though. 2-0 for TRFC.

2 the moonAwful. Not much more to say. Switched off for the goal and never switched back on. Early days of course but based on that effort today we've no chance.

Agreed we sounded very poor especially the 2nd half. We aren't entitled to anything in this league and I think it is fair to say the talent gap between us and the top half of the league is much smaller than some think. Be upset for the day then get ready for the next game.

Unfortunately apart from Cook all other strikers seem to be donkeys. And defence is slow old and rather pants.
Way it is we are going to get stuffed when we play the better teams like aldershot.
Sutton seemed to have taken on the crown from fgr for most dirty team.

Sutton theme tune must be by Olivia Newton John.... They stuck to their game plan to frustrate Tranmere and it worked. It even transitioned into a Brabinesque head-the-ball competition. Not a lot can be said. Will be interesting to hear MM's view. I am surprised about Alabi. He looked a lot better in the videos for other teams. I wasnt surprised by tbe defensive lapses. Shame really because it seemed to be going well for first 25 minutes.

That was a depressing experience listening on Wirral radio. It seems we didn't have any clue how to deal with their pressing game. Poor preparation from the management and poor team performance. As Higgo pointed out, their goalkeeper had virtually nothing to do in the second half and we are the home side one goal behind. Very frustrating. Surely we can do better than this.

Apart from the first 15 minutes we were very poor today when we looked like getting anything going they just fouled us to stop any flow we should be used to this by now didn't trouble the keeper apart from hitting the crossbar can't win them all but a little bit more effort wouldn't have gone amiss there is no pace in the side whatsoever don't think we won a second ball all game back to the drawing board

I don't think it was as bad a performance as many say . The first 20 minutes I thought we pressed them quite well and played the ball to feet ok . The problem as I saw it was that we somehow lost our shape leaving gaps all over the place which was allowing them to get a hold on the game which in turn boosted their confidence . I don't think they were a particularly better footballing side than us ( they weren't ) , but after the goal ( how was he allowed to run straight through the middle ) ? They managed their game plan well , closed us down quickly and time wasted hence them returning home with the 3 points . The one main part of our game that needs improving is the quality of balls into the box , pretty poor today . But I'm sure MM will sort it and we'll come back stronger .

UglybobI don't think it was as bad a performance as many say . The first 20 minutes I thought we pressed them quite well and played the ball to feet ok . The problem as I saw it was that we somehow lost our shape leaving gaps all over the place which was allowing them to get a hold on the game which in turn boosted their confidence . I don't think they were a particularly better footballing side than us ( they weren't ) , but after the goal ( how was he allowed to run straight through the middle ) ? They managed their game plan well , closed us down quickly and time wasted hence them returning home with the 3 points . The one main part of our game that needs improving is the quality of balls into the box , pretty poor today . But I'm sure MM will sort it and we'll come back stronger .

Surely a home defeat and 4 points from 9 as out right favourites is a bad performance. If you are down to 9 men because the ref has got it very wrong and they get a dodgy peno in the 90th, that ok. 1 point at tufc was not a good point in any circumstances. The reason we only got 1 point was because of our players and what they did. You make your own luck.
Today was as bad as the first game, maybe different reasons, but reasons within our control. Our budget has been cut and is now not in the top half of the league. MP told me this at the last game.

We can learn from that, we were bullied and outmuscled in the midfield, weak ref didnt help.

Ive seen alabi twice this week and apart from having the touch of an elephant, the energy levels of a 90 year old, the aerial ability of a worm and the reading of the game of a cricketer he is the finished article .

Alabi was brought on to add a physical presence and stop our lightweight midfield being bullied but he just got bullied himself.

He should watch how lafayette played for sutton and learn from that, he lead the line superbly

Everyone saying how well we played on tuesday i thought i would go today to see us play well. How disapointed i was . Every player on the pitch was awful even cook. I know wot everyone is going to say its one of them games lets put this one behind us and move on !!! Its games like this we need to win to go up. All i can say is in my view Tranmere are going to be in this league alot longer than people think

We were much better on Tuesday to be fair goosed. Nothing really worked for us today, and i have to admit i thought "its one of those days". Very long way to go and we have quality coming back into the side soonish. Albai has been a let down so far, but in pre-season looked really good, so willing to give him more time too.

Dreadful display today apart from the first twenty minutes. McEveley looked a constant liability and he was more intent on playing the man rather than playing the ball. Alabai was completely off the pace although in fairness the service to him was non existent. We lacked ideas and were bullied by a team who denied us space and we couldn't cope with them. It may well be 'one of those games' but today's performance was shocking.

TranmereFanWe were much better on Tuesday to be fair goosed. Nothing really worked for us today, and i have to admit i thought "its one of those days". Very long way to go and we have quality coming back into the side soonish. Albai has been a let down so far, but in pre-season looked really good, so willing to give him more time too.

The problem with that tho Tranmerefan is that yes it's early season and we will have Tollitt etc. back at some point soonish? but we will have played 7 league games by end of this month and 11 (so almost a 1/4 of the season gone by mid- September). We need to be firing on all cylinders now and cannot afford to expect things will pick up in a couple of months when we get players back fit.

I agree we were better on Tuesday. I couldn't make today's game but having made the trip to Torquay the radio commentary suggested a similarly disjointed performance to that one aside from the sendings off obviously. Also Alabi was dire at Torquay - he needs to improve quickly as taking someone off to put him on is supposed to improve matters not worsen it!

trfc-boiTuesday Woking played off us, gave us space to play and we beat them well, Sutton Utd get in our faces close us down and flap, did we get a shot on target ?
The lads know they can beat teams, just need to start a good run.
Off subject Aldershot have started well, no messing about, good passing team too

Well we hit the underside of the bar and a couple of shot whizzed almost along the goal line but nobody attacked the ball to finish it off.

ming05Unfortunately apart from Cook all other strikers seem to be donkeys. And defence is slow old and rather pants.
Way it is we are going to get stuffed when we play the better teams like aldershot.
Sutton seemed to have taken on the crown from fgr for most dirty team.

All of their five bookings were for very similar fouls cutting off our skilful players runs before they caused any damage.But they were all different players taking one for the team. And the ref fell for all their rolling over and time wasting tricks.We were bullied out of it by their two balding thugs in midfield. Their little number 20 was MOM.

Brabin was here all over again. We started superb and then after 20 minutes s££te.

We keep doing the SAME things over an over an over with no lesson taken. Causing confusion at the back and goal.

Having Cook on the pitch and just chipping balls up in the air hoping he will do something and letting a time served non league pair of centre halves smash it clear.

Alibi is f££££into s££te. Their no 9 "pink boots" was far the best player out their today and exactly what we need along side Cookie. He should not have been allowed to leave PP today without signing for Rovers.

Norburn looks a player and was probably the only shining light today.

We need Tollit back sharpish and for me the like she of Dawson should be given a go, we need pace and width getting to the by line to feed Cook.

Our final ball is terrible, the wide free kicks in the corners need whipping between goalkeeper and ball invite Cookie and Mckeverley to run onto them, not scoring anything when it's behind you.

We need two strikers and one to go front one to go back post. Had we had someone on the back stick today we'd have scored a couple.

It could be argued that Woking and Torquay are likely to be in the relegation mix and Sutton will be a moderate mid table team.The situation is cause for concern and not panic yet but it wouldn't take much to turn it into that.
One observation is that Hughes is ok with teams that give him space but against teams that close down quickly he has looked poor for some time

trfc-boiTuesday Woking played off us, gave us space to play and we beat them well, Sutton Utd get in our faces close us down and flap, did we get a shot on target ?
The lads know they can beat teams, just need to start a good run.
Off subject Aldershot have started well, no messing about, good passing team too

Agree with this and also that the game was crying out for Norwood.

Ridehalgh got some decent balls in but some disappointing ones as well and no-one following up for the second ball in their box..
Alabi, early days but a bag of cement would bounce 3 yards off his knee if he tried to trap it atm.

Some of the best displays towards the end of last season were with 3 at the back and Vaughan and Ridehalgh bombing on. We were done for pace at centre back several times today. Could we counter that with an extra centre back?

We where total pants today and I'm fed up with hearing about inept refereeing, get used to it this is the standard in this league, time wasting teams, no different from are own goal keeper who even wastes time when we are losing! We can barely take a throw in to one of our own players. We are already playing catch up with the top teams, just not good enough. To make matters worse I am on the same bloody carriage as the Sutton team on the way back to Euston.

The first ten minutes were excellent-chances at both ends. We missed two or three sitters after that,notably Suttons header from Dunn's free kick. Then for some apparent reason play was stopped after the lino on the JK side flagged and the ref and their player Lafayette walked from one side of the pitch and spoke to both managers but no announcement was made. The steward next to me said an allegation of racism had been made presumably by someone in the crowd as none of our players were spoken to. Virtually straight from the restart ,we were asleep and their speedy striker galloped clear of our defence and beat Davies easily.

Sutton were in our faces and we didn't like it. A big hard uncompromising team who liked to dish it out but had some skill too.They'd obviously done their homework on us. They had 2 balding thugs in midfield but their little number 20[Wright?] was their best player.They seemed to have a plan to keep Norburn quiet . 5 of them took bookings for the team when it was necessary,all very similar fouls when our more skilful players had just started off on runs.. We missed chances -a fair few of them in the first half -but after we hit the underside of the bar[2nd half],it looked like it wasn't going to be our day and so it proved.

Second half we were dreadful. Cook was throughout on his own up front -battled well with little support. This was my first chance to see Alabi given a fair go-he was atrocious but wasn't the only one in the second half. When we took Harris off for Mangan,we lost what little bite there had been in midfield

We missed Norwood because he would have got amongst their big guys at the back and run at them which nobody did.

McEveley was very poor[Sutton was better] and couldn't even score an own goal properly at the end when he nodded the ball past Davies.

sparky100We where total pants today and I'm fed up with hearing about inept refereeing, get used to it this is the standard in this league, time wasting teams, no different from are own goal keeper who even wastes time when we are losing! We can barely take a throw in to one of our own players. We are already playing catch up with the top teams, just not good enough. To make matters worse I am on the same bloody carriage as the Sutton team on the way back to Euston.

Ask Lafayette why him and the ref walked over from one side of the pitch to the other and spoke to the two managers.

sparky100We where total pants today and I'm fed up with hearing about inept refereeing, get used to it this is the standard in this league, time wasting teams, no different from are own goal keeper who even wastes time when we are losing! We can barely take a throw in to one of our own players. We are already playing catch up with the top teams, just not good enough. To make matters worse I am on the same bloody carriage as the Sutton team on the way back to Euston.

Ask Lafayette why him and the ref walked over from one side of the pitch to the other and spoke to the two managers.

He thought he had been racially abused by a chap in the johnny king stand allegedly...... the bloke was shouting at the lino

[quote aktrfc][quote Uglybob] Our budget has been cut and is now not in the top half of the league. MP told me this at the last game.

Never say never, but we need to up our game.[/quote]really. So our budget is a bottom half budget. The complete opposite of what I've heard and read. Sorry but I don't buy that. Palios said in the echo last month we have the same budget.

After today's performance which, over the whole 90 minutes was pants, McNulty has to come pack in for McEveley who considering the level he has played at was a total liability today.

Cooky on his own up front simply won't work IMO, no matter how much his fitness has improved.

Unless Jay Harris had an injury from one of the late tackles on him, I just didn't see the point of bringing Mangan on. I noticed Waring was stripped to come on but, never made it that IMO would have been a better option, as it was pretty obvious the best we could hope for was to salvage a point.

Sutton were bad last year but, even worse in this game almost from the first minute and lets not lose sight of the fact, that their goal came from our mistake loosing the ball in the centre circle and a simple pass through the middle which, I am pretty sure McNulty would have read (he usually does)

Hoots MonThe first ten minutes were excellent-chances at both ends. We missed two or three sitters after that,notably Suttons header from Dunn's free kick. Then for some apparent reason play was stopped after the lino on the JK side flagged and the ref and their player Lafayette walked from one side of the pitch and spoke to both managers but no announcement was made. The steward next to me said an allegation of racism had been made presumably by someone in the crowd as none of our players were spoken to. Virtually straight from the restart ,we were asleep and their speedy striker galloped clear of our defence and beat Davies easily.
Sutton were in our faces and we didn't like it. A big hard uncompromising team who liked to dish it out but had some skill too.They'd obviously done their homework on us. They had 2 balding thugs in midfield but their little number 20[Wright?] was their best player.They seemed to have a plan to keep Norburn quiet . 5 of them took bookings for the team when it was necessary,all very similar fouls when our more skilful players had just started off on runs.. We missed chances -a fair few of them in the first half -but after we hit the underside of the bar[2nd half],it looked like it wasn't going to be our day and so it proved.

Second half we were dreadful. Cook was throughout on his own up front -battled well with little support. This was my first chance to see Alabi given a fair go-he was atrocious but wasn't the only one in the second half. When we took Harris off for Mangan,we lost what little bite there had been in midfield

We missed Norwood because he would have got amongst their big guys at the back and run at them which nobody did.

McEveley was very poor[Sutton was better] and couldn't even score an own goal properly at the end when he nodded the ball past Davies.

I was astonished that Hughes was voted our MOM.

Definitely a case of after the Lord Mayors show.....

Alabi should be given his cards Monday morning, he was appalling. I can not belive he is paid to play football. Mceverley wasn't great but he showed glimpses of quality, he'll be good when match fit. Mangan isn't a winger/midfielder he should have come on alongside Cook. Cook didn't threaten the goal much but not for lack of trying service was poor, and everything he got near was just hopeful punts forwards, the one or two quality balls in he rattled the bar and went close in the 1st half, we can't just heap it towards him and hope he'll do something. We need Tollit back and give the lad from stoke a run next game if he's fit.

We don't have enough quality up front, the post that says we have lost money from budget, looks like it when we are signing a striker from Chester. If the Paliai want to avoid us becoming Wrexham they need to pay in and buy quality to pair up with Cook. There 9 would be great alongside Cookie,

Ugly wins again; the story of the National League. At times we need to sink to low levels to progress e.g. Cook leaving a trailing leg for their keeper to "bring him down" for a nailed on penalty instead of honestly leaping over the challenge; "when in Rome". Honest football won't get us out of this league. Sick of the antics that go on, falling over, feigning injury, time wasting, cynical challenges (Hoots was right about taking cards for the team; nicely apportioned today). The referees are duped every time, instead of occasionally dabbling in the dark arts, let's throw away our principles and join the cheating bar stewards.

Hoots MonThe first ten minutes were excellent-chances at both ends. We missed two or three sitters after that,notably Suttons header from Dunn's free kick. Then for some apparent reason play was stopped after the lino on the JK side flagged and the ref and their player Lafayette walked from one side of the pitch and spoke to both managers but no announcement was made. The steward next to me said an allegation of racism had been made presumably by someone in the crowd as none of our players were spoken to. Virtually straight from the restart ,we were asleep and their speedy striker galloped clear of our defence and beat Davies easily.
Sutton were in our faces and we didn't like it. A big hard uncompromising team who liked to dish it out but had some skill too.They'd obviously done their homework on us. They had 2 balding thugs in midfield but their little number 20[Wright?] was their best player.They seemed to have a plan to keep Norburn quiet . 5 of them took bookings for the team when it was necessary,all very similar fouls when our more skilful players had just started off on runs.. We missed chances -a fair few of them in the first half -but after we hit the underside of the bar[2nd half],it looked like it wasn't going to be our day and so it proved.

Second half we were dreadful. Cook was throughout on his own up front -battled well with little support. This was my first chance to see Alabi given a fair go-he was atrocious but wasn't the only one in the second half. When we took Harris off for Mangan,we lost what little bite there had been in midfield

We missed Norwood because he would have got amongst their big guys at the back and run at them which nobody did.

McEveley was very poor[Sutton was better] and couldn't even score an own goal properly at the end when he nodded the ball past Davies.

sparky100We where total pants today and I'm fed up with hearing about inept refereeing, get used to it this is the standard in this league, time wasting teams, no different from are own goal keeper who even wastes time when we are losing! We can barely take a throw in to one of our own players. We are already playing catch up with the top teams, just not good enough. To make matters worse I am on the same bloody carriage as the Sutton team on the way back to Euston.

Ask Lafayette why him and the ref walked over from one side of the pitch to the other and spoke to the two managers.

I have seen it posted elsewhere that someone in the JKS called the lino a ''blind t**t''but Lafayette claimed he'd heard ''black'' instead of ''blind''

Harsh to single out Alabi after 45 minutes of football. But Cook and Alabi don't work together up front. We completely lacked any width in the second half.

Buxton, Jennings and Harris had good games. The rest of the team had an off day. McEvely was poor. Seems to lack pace and resorts to pushing/obstructing players rather than putting in tackles or challenges.

Mickey got his tactics wrong in the second half and that's why we lost today.

I made one of my unfortunately rare trips to a home game, and as I drove the 4 hours home I did question why I had bothered.
In fairness the first 20 minutes or so there was some good passing but from then it wasn't at all good. Alabi was without being unkind very poor, looked unfit and looked like he'd have trouble controlling a fart. A lot of the final balls in were not good enough, knocking long balls across the box is unlikely to reap much, as proved today. I don't understand why Hughes and Rides are not on corner duty.
McEverley was very poor at the back, the number of times he put either Davis or other defenders in trouble was terrifying. I'll make a small allowance for the fact that he is new to the joys if the NL but he needs to learn fast. I think McNulty has to come back in as his distribution from the back is much better. I think Norwood should come back as soon as possible, ideally alongside Cook.

On the third game of last season, on this same Saturday a year ago, unfancied Sutton United got another shock win on the road. At Lincoln. The omens are with us! (Got to find a silver lining somewhere..)

Yes we are capable of beating Sutton united at home, am sure the players know, they have shown us what they are capable of. Yes it's frustrating, it's just one game, learn from it, deep breathe, and move on.keep the faith !

They should of had at least 2 red cards . The worst footballing side I've seen in a long long time . Time wasted from the off . The ref was the reason for there goal . Running off the pitch becouse his ear piece fell out . JOKE !!! He disrupted our flow . And why the hell did suttons number 9 run off with him ? He was so far up the refs @#$%& only his studs where showing

It sounds suspiciously like we didn't have any width and this contributed to a lack of real pressure in the second half and lots of under-performing players. Were we playing a diamond because I wasn't there to see it??

Against rubbish the full backs can advance if we play a diamond and pen the opposition in but this doesn't happen against average to good teams. In fact, once the opposition stop the full backs coming out, everything goes central which is meat and drink to the aggressive/dirty midfields we sometimes face.

Mickey has played with both wingers and wing backs which is definitely an option to strongly consider if Cook is leading the line.

But I do think you are allowed to talk about a 'bad day at the office' as long as we react positively to it and don't let it become a pattern. Remember the team in white that won the first 5 games of last season that changed their manager before November?? It's a long old season!!
#SWA

We looked decent in the first half,just lacked the final ball. I thought Dunn was excellent in the first half and the only one of our players that looked like he was getting any joy, i would have given him 20 minutes of the second half too, because he's far more creative than Alabi. Alabi looks nervous and for a big guy, he gets pushed around a lot from set pieces.
We really missed Norwood today, he would have caused a lot of problems for the sutton defence.

Fair play to sutton though, they made life difficult, wasted heaps of time and pressed the ref at every opportunity. Its league where anyone can beat anyone now, i still think we're better than most, we're lacking width but once Tollit is back that'll be in the bag.

The play off final exposed our weakness in dealing with with teams that close down and that are direct. We do not seem to have improved that situation.Calling for McNulty is no more than than juggling the deckchairs but McEverley and Alabi look as if they will be poor signings. We are unlikely to be able to afford to make additional signings and still have to pay for Alabi.Is it time to try some of our younger players,who may get better unlike more experienced players who are likely to only further confirm their limitations

Really disappointing performance yesterday. Like others have said, thought we were great for the first fifteen or so, then dropped off. They were timewasting at 0-0 but once they scored the spoiling tactics really started, plenty of lesser teams in this league come to PP and do this and we don't seem to have a way to deal with it effectively, the game goes stagnant and our game plan goes out of the window.

We didn't look like scoring at any point during the second half. Why we persisted in lumping it up to Cooky I don't know, it wasn't working and their defence was dealing with everything in the air, he was left isolated. The first fifteen showed that on the deck, they were there to be got at.

Huge Steve shaped hole in the defence today, rocked and rolled all over the place, looked nervous all game, and bullied, neither of which are words I'd associate with McNulty. Time to put him back in. Missed Norwood too, I know he comes in for some stick on here for his lack of clinical finishing, but he pulls people out of position and creates space with his runs, chases everything, the team missed him.

Wasn't impressed with Alabi against Torquay and he did nothing to change my opinion yesterday. Looks lazy and lacking in ability, hopefully he proves me wrong but I'm not holding my breath.

luckysevenReally disappointing performance yesterday. Like others have said, thought we were great for the first fifteen or so, then dropped off. They were timewasting at 0-0 but once they scored the spoiling tactics really started, plenty of lesser teams in this league come to PP and do this and we don't seem to have a way to deal with it effectively, the game goes stagnant and our game plan goes out of the window.
We didn't look like scoring at any point during the second half. Why we persisted in lumping it up to Cooky I don't know, it wasn't working and their defence was dealing with everything in the air, he was left isolated. The first fifteen showed that on the deck, they were there to be got at.

Huge Steve shaped hole in the defence today, rocked and rolled all over the place, looked nervous all game, and bullied, neither of which are words I'd associate with McNulty. Time to put him back in. Missed Norwood too, I know he comes in for some stick on here for his lack of clinical finishing, but he pulls people out of position and creates space with his runs, chases everything, the team missed him.

Wasn't impressed with Alabi against Torquay and he did nothing to change my opinion yesterday. Looks lazy and lacking in ability, hopefully he proves me wrong but I'm not holding my breath.

Yesterday's game was a carbon copy of the Woking game the first season in the NL .wasting times .fouls etc .taking bookings for the team .i watched them against Leyton Orient last week .nothing brilliant but never gave orient a moment to settle and these are a part time club they have spent years at this level they know how to play the game .and how many big clubs have they upset in the FA cup ? As for the two bald thugs at the back ,sign them up .the 2favourites for the title for me are Aldershot and Dagenham .the trouble this year is one champs and six in the playoffs .all it needs is sixth to get lucky and all the hard work goes out the window ..these teams Like Sutton fight for the club more than we do ,they love to upset the big names .i remember 2years ago Torquay had a cup game at Carlisle they had no money for a overnight stay so they drove up by car ,played the game and drove back again probably 900 miles in total,that's dedication

FiftyyearsaroverYesterday's game was a carbon copy of the Woking game the first season in the NL .wasting times .fouls etc .taking bookings for the team .i watched them against Leyton Orient last week .nothing brilliant but never gave orient a moment to settle and these are a part time club they have spent years at this level they know how to play the game .and how many big clubs have they upset in the FA cup ? As for the two bald thugs at the back ,sign them up .the 2favourites for the title for me are Aldershot and Dagenham .the trouble this year is one champs and six in the playoffs .all it needs is sixth to get lucky and all the hard work goes out the window ..these teams Like Sutton fight for the club more than we do ,they love to upset the big names .i remember 2years ago Torquay had a cup game at Carlisle they had no money for a overnight stay so they drove up by car ,played the game and drove back again probably 900 miles in total,that's dedication

I whole heartedly disagree with this post........I would also sign their no 9!

Matt34Disappointing result, but the team can recover and must win at Guiseley; especially after their trouncing.

Guisley is irrelevant unless we loose. They aren't the games we need to win. To get promoted we need to win the ugly games not the easy games.

For those of us at Guiseley last season, it was an ugly game. I expect no different this time, so by your own reckoning a game we need to win. No game is irrelevant. I won't have a blasé attitude to any game as totting up the points at the end of the season that cost us promotion is a perennial pastime I don't want to be witnessing again.
The kav, you are spot on re: Buxton. He seemed to be labouring after his knock and had been very influential before that.

Matt34Disappointing result, but the team can recover and must win at Guiseley; especially after their trouncing.

Guisley is irrelevant unless we loose. They aren't the games we need to win. To get promoted we need to win the ugly games not the easy games.

For those of us at Guiseley last season, it was an ugly game. I expect no different this time, so by your own reckoning a game we need to win. No game is irrelevant. I won't have a blasé attitude to any game as totting up the points at the end of the season that cost us promotion is a perennial pastime I don't want to be witnessing again.
The kav, you are spot on re: Buxton. He seemed to be labouring after his knock and had been very influential before that.

Micky Mellon confuses me. The first 3 minutes of his post match is spot on, can't disagree and reflects all of our views. On top for 20 minutes, ball on deck few chances. He then moans about non league tactics, refs and time wasting. Identifies all they have is a big long ball, and pick off the bits. Then when asked about Dunn he says he wanted to go two up top, see if we could get it up to them and hold it up.

He says we'll be back in Monday working on how the game should be played, which to all means on the deck. Then devises a half time tactic being 1 down and having identified their strengths which have resulted in a 1-0 defict and decides to take them on at it???

I was blaming the players for yesterday it's clear that was the tactic. Baffling.

We will concede more than last season due to the lack of pace at the back, the choice to go out and buy strikers and then fill the subs bench with them baffles me, mostly due to fact that apart from cook and norwood our other strikers seem to be donkeys. It's a very lobsided team.

ming05We will concede more than last season due to the lack of pace at the back, the choice to go out and buy strikers and then fill the subs bench with them baffles me, mostly due to fact that apart from cook and norwood our other strikers seem to be donkeys. It's a very lobsided team.

It is confusing however to me it smacks of one thing, lack of funds and the desperation to fall on a hidden gem who will prove saviour. It's how Wrexham have come to be long time NL stable mates to the likes of Macclesfield and Dover. This like any league is all about the money, yes you can be their or their about due to the sheer weakness of some teams. Non of the additions have added real quality over and above the previous 2 seasons. We gambled on Jenno at 30+, Taylor Fletcher the other lump up front from the Scottish side to get us through on experience. Norwood & Vaughan were added from other recently promoted NL clubs who deemed them not good enough. Connors decent but no other clubs felt the need to free him from Wrexham in their chase of promotion, final ball can let him down drifts in and out of games. Last seasons finish was largely down to MM ability to make the most of a bad lot in a below regular quality league. I really think the plan is that off the back of last seasons 2nd place is to feel we won't finish less than 7th will be guarnteed play offs which we may scrape through as it's a lotto and it will be seen as a susccesful promotion push. There are teams with big doe gathering on the NL horizon and relegated teams from FL get good parachute money, even 7th could be a big ask on the evidence of 3 games.

If money really is no issue then I fancy the club need to make some big decisions about the squad and how we move forwards before it's too late.

Of the teams above us at this early stage 8 have genuine promotion aspirations along with 2 of them behind us 11 doesn't go into 7. This will be a tough tough league compared to last season.

As I have already said so agree with higgosboots .there is some serious money being thrown at some non League side Billilcy /(never can spell that town) for example paying sone players exPL £3000 a week Hereford will be back soon again mega bucks thrown at them .i can see a tine when the NL will be full of ex League sides and the newbies pass us by eg Morecambe Fleetwood Burton and who knows else .times are a changing

ming05We will concede more than last season due to the lack of pace at the back, the choice to go out and buy strikers and then fill the subs bench with them baffles me, mostly due to fact that apart from cook and norwood our other strikers seem to be donkeys. It's a very lobsided team.

It is confusing however to me it smacks of one thing, lack of funds and the desperation to fall on a hidden gem who will prove saviour. It's how Wrexham have come to be long time NL stable mates to the likes of Macclesfield and Dover. This like any league is all about the money, yes you can be their or their about due to the sheer weakness of some teams. Non of the additions have added real quality over and above the previous 2 seasons. We gambled on Jenno at 30+, Taylor Fletcher the other lump up front from the Scottish side to get us through on experience. Norwood & Vaughan were added from other recently promoted NL clubs who deemed them not good enough. Connors decent but no other clubs felt the need to free him from Wrexham in their chase of promotion, final ball can let him down drifts in and out of games. Last seasons finish was largely down to MM ability to make the most of a bad lot in a below regular quality league. I really think the plan is that off the back of last seasons 2nd place is to feel we won't finish less than 7th will be guarnteed play offs which we may scrape through as it's a lotto and it will be seen as a susccesful promotion push. There are teams with big doe gathering on the NL horizon and relegated teams from FL get good parachute money, even 7th could be a big ask on the evidence of 3 games.

If money really is no issue then I fancy the club need to make some big decisions about the squad and how we move forwards before it's too late.

Of the teams above us at this early stage 8 have genuine promotion aspirations along with 2 of them behind us 11 doesn't go into 7. This will be a tough tough league compared to last season.

Ming and Higgoboots you are both right up to a point but I think but we clearly had sufficient funds last year and have taken on Alabi for this season knowing there will likely be a fee and not knowing how big it will be! Our squad should be big enough and strong enough but it already appears that we are being outmuscled and our flair players got at. The problem then is we have no coherent plan B - hoof ball up to Cook and Alabi who can't seem to head a ball is not the answer.

That said MM has 2 first team midfielders/ wingers out injured until who knows when on contracts for all this season in Wallace and Tollitt and another potential 1st teamer in Kirby who I assume is still far away from match fitness and when you add in the signing of Dunn and Norburn when all fit we have more than enough in midfield so the focus on the attack during the close season seemed sensible.

Ming as to strikers being brought in and on the bench he did of course start with Alabi in the first game but after a terrible league debut he was dropped and rightly so even if it was after only 1 game. Waring was injured in pre-season and with so few pre-season games which I suspect MM is regretting now Waring was destined to be a substitute at best for the early games.

I've started watching the post match defeat interviews with subtitles.. cheers me up after a loss listening to the subtitles trying to break MM code 😀 Something about a 2nd army strike force at some point and we are playing Dies Lee on Tuesday apparently..

Is there any proof that our pay ill is not competitive.An even bigger question is whether our pay bill is smaller than that of Sutton or Torquay,clearly it is not. I also very much doubt that we pay less than Aldershot or Dagenham
The issue is not how much we pay but who we bring in and wether they represent good value.MMs record is mixed. The better signings have been from those who first had a lone period.Of the others none are I,pressive and his record for this group is no better than those Brabin brought in.
Alabi already looks one of those players that will be frustrating. He also shows how misleading it can be to press the case for a player to be signed on the basis of one game.This week it is the ex Dover player with Sutton but many posters were saying similar things about Alabi after last seasons home game against Chester.
We are where we are because performances and signings are not a fair return on investment

Agree we look too often like laboured marathon runners and rarely like sprinters.it could be argued that it was our first five game sprint that made it possible that we were still hanging in at the latter stages of last season

However the impact of people like Wallace and Tollit has yet to be seriously instigated and the lack of McNulty and Norwood also could have impacted on the result and let's not forget it was a 1-0 defeat not a 4-0 defeat.

Win against Guiseley by a large margin and will people be saying title contenders again, or write it off as no proof of title contention, because you're playing a team expected to struggle who already have a 6-0 drubbing on this seasons record?

The situation is recoverable, so there's no need to be too concerned after 3 games. Aldershot could quite easily get too carried away with a 6-0 win and lose the next game, then again maybe not, but if Tranmere can win the next 2 then suddenly it's 10 out of 15 and back on track.

All title winners lose, so maybe it's better to get one or two of the dud ones out of the way quickly. After all Bournemouth lost 4 in a row and dropped out of the league 1 playoffs but still went on to win the title and I very much doubt Tranmere would lose 4 in a row.

Then I ate his Liver.......... with some baked beans and a can of coke.

Matt34However the impact of people like Wallace and Tollit has yet to be seriously instigated and the lack of McNulty and Norwood also could have impacted on the result and let's not forget it was a 1-0 defeat not a 4-0 defeat.
Win against Guiseley by a large margin and will people be saying title contenders again, or write it off as no proof of title contention, because you're playing a team expected to struggle who already have a 6-0 drubbing on this seasons record?

The situation is recoverable, so there's no need to be too concerned after 3 games. Aldershot could quite easily get too carried away with a 6-0 win and lose the next game, then again maybe not, but if Tranmere can win the next 2 then suddenly it's 10 out of 15 and back on track.

All title winners lose, so maybe it's better to get one or two of the dud ones out of the way quickly. After all Bournemouth lost 4 in a row and dropped out of the league 1 playoffs but still went on to win the title and I very much doubt Tranmere would lose 4 in a row.

I don't think we will win the league, couldn't see it when I left Wembley, still can't without introduction of 3 players, we aren't the complete package yet. Goal poacher to add to partner Cook, and at least one combative midfielder, one comparative centre halves with pace.

It is not simply the points but the manner of the performances against what are essentially moderate teams. Sometimes teams slip up but you can see that there is progress that will come good.Sadly it does no yolk like that at present

FiftyyearsaroverAs I have already said so agree with higgosboots .there is some serious money being thrown at some non League side Billilcy /(never can spell that town) for example paying sone players exPL £3000 a week Hereford will be back soon again mega bucks thrown at them .i can see a tine when the NL will be full of ex League sides and the newbies pass us by eg Morecambe Fleetwood Burton and who knows else .times are a changing

Bring back 3-5-2 or one of the variations on it.
Should have brought McNulty on at HT and pushed the full backs on. Really controlled games and created chances when we played that way last season.
Need to be more creative in terms of substitute selection - three strikers never going to change the outcome of games against the likes of Sutton.
As for Sutton what is the point? Plastic pitch teams are barred from promotion and competing in the play offs - so if they finish top 7 (and I think their is a good chance they will), their place is given to the team that finishes 8th.

DevonExileIs there any proof that our pay ill is not competitive.An even bigger question is whether our pay bill is smaller than that of Sutton or Torquay,clearly it is not. I also very much doubt that we pay less than Aldershot or Dagenham
The issue is not how much we pay but who we bring in and wether they represent good value.MMs record is mixed. The better signings have been from those who first had a lone period.Of the others none are I,pressive and his record for this group is no better than those Brabin brought

Just wondering, given that a lot of the teams in this league are based down south is there any truth to the thought that many of the players we may well be able to afford don't want to relocate given the expense that would incur against the reality of non league wages? If they are southern based there are many teams they can play for without having to upsticks. Therefore are we at a disadvantage of choosing from the smaller pool of players who are prepared/can move to us?

Looking back at sat if only cookies header was a foot lower, his header across goal had crept in or he hadnt taken the ball off mangans foot ...we did create 3 decent chances even playing that badly, plenty of room for optimism there

On the train down to the Torquay game, everyone I spoke to agreed that this is our season. But you need a spark to lead this league; you need to look like promotion material. The Sutton game was very, very poor - and this team does not look like promotion material at all. Prediction for end of season? - MM gone and M&NP sold out. Get used to it - Tranmere is all about the past; there's no future there IMHO.

DockerOn the train down to the Torquay game, everyone I spoke to agreed that this is our season. But you need a spark to lead this league; you need to look like promotion material. The Sutton game was very, very poor - and this team does not look like promotion material at all. Prediction for end of season? - MM gone and M&NP sold out. Get used to it - Tranmere is all about the past; there's no future there IMHO.

Soooo the fact the stadium, facilities and training facility is miles better than it ever has been in the past means nothing then? M&NP are setting the foundations for the future not digging a grave...

Totally agree. The end of the Johnson era showed someone with a lack of vision, still running a club the 1980's way and according to Palios in a JMU speech some time back, the accounting was so bad catering losses were being made and no one twigged.

With the exception of the Chinese stuff and maybe the the hotel, the youth sponsor, other sponsorship initiatives and potentially the entertainment drives implemented by the Palios', were well within the scope of the previous regime and even enough sponsorship to increase squad spending by 20% in the last 5 years of league 1, might have seen Tranmere have a slightly better year on year squad, capable of still being a third tier side now.

The Palios' are not the same people. They are not pulling you out of a hole, just so that in years to come they can start digging a fresh one and let you slowly find your way into it.

However new facilities only go so far and sports science may help you tailor a players development, but on a match day it doesn't do much to improve distribution in the final third, that's down to the system and the footballing brain of your players and even if you could tell players like Jennings, Dunn, Harris etc after games, how much yardage they covered and how much pass completion they managed; if they don't give the strikers enough to feed off in the next game, then some percentages and a doughnut shaped graph given to them after the previous match, won't count for anything.

It's still important though to secure the long-term viability of Tranmere and the Palios' are doing this and it feels reassuring this is the case, rather than having someone building a fancy new stadium and giving the manager £10,000 a week for players, so in 10+ years after getting to the championship, they struggle to sell to someone when they've had enough, because the asking price coupled with the additional spend that 10+ years of bankrolling has created a need for, makes it difficult for new investors.

Bournemouth have done well with the combination of Howe and Denim, but if Denim decided to walk away in May 2018, who could afford to buy the club and then stump up the added bankroll millions year in year out, as opposed to buying a potentially non-bankrolled club managing mid-table championship finishes with a canny manager, that required no added millions as well as a lower purchase price.

That latter would allow for greater sales potential, but their fans are enjoying the ride so far and well done to Eddie, because him and Sean Dyche are arguably the best 2 managers in the PL right now, based on club size and achievements versus expectation in the last 5 years,

The Palios' are a fantastic addition to he Tranmere setup and I'm confident the teams form will improve very soon, because whilst the scoring has been non-existent bar one game, the concession rate is currently 50% and that's a league winning defensive ratio any day of the week, as the league leaders are on 75% concession, so when the goals start coming the form will really shoot up.

Then I ate his Liver.......... with some baked beans and a can of coke.

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